Electric discharge device



NOV. 17, 1953 5. GERMER 2,659,836

ELECTRIC DISCHARGE DEV ICE Filed Jan. 20, 1951 v INVENTOR. Edmund Germer BY I ATTORNEY patented Nov. 17, 1953 ELECTRIC DISCHARGE DEVICE Edmund Germer, Berlin-Wannsee, Germany, as-

signor to Hanovia Chemical & Manufacturing (30., Newark, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application January 20, 1951, Serial No. 206,976

1 Claim.

This invention relates to electric discharge devices and is concerned in particular with arrangements for electrodes and terminals in such devices.

Electric discharge devices fail during operation usually because of failure of the electrodes or of a lead-in conductor connecting an electrode to a contact terminal of the device. The electrodes may become broken or when activated electrodes are used they may in time become inactivated, whereby the device can no longer function in the manner" for which it was designed.

It is a general object of the invention to provide an electric discharge device having a substantially longer useful life than devices of such type manufactured heretofore. Another object is to provide a discharge device having the above stated advantage and yet is simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture. A further object of the invention is to construct the new device in a manner whereby it may be employed in conjunction with already existing auxiliary equipment such as lamp sockets, reflectors, etc., without requiring alteration of such auxiliary equipment. Further objects and various advantages will appear from the following detailed Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows; ,Fig. 4 is a sectional view of an end portion of'a modified form of a lamp constructed-in accordance with the invention;

Fig. is an end view of the lamp shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of an end portion of still another form of a lamp according to the invention.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

Broadly stated, the invention resides in the provision in a vapor discharge device of a plurality of electrodes and connecting them to the contact terminals of the device in a suitable manner, whereby upon failure of one electrode, or

of a lead-in conductor, another electrode may Referring now to Fig. 1 of said drawing, there is illustrated a lamp, constructed in accordance with the invention, having an envelope ID of light transmissive material. If the lamp is designed to emit ultra-violet rays, its envelope is formed of quartz or other ultra-violet transmissive material as is well understood by those skilled in the art. The lamp may be of the known fluorescent type, i. e. it may have a coating of fluorescent material on its inner surface for converting invisible radiations to visible light. The lamp is preferably filled with rare gas and contains a small amount of mercury or other vaporizable metal. Each end of the tubular envelope Ill is closed by a flared seal-stem II in known fashion.

Stem II has three lead-in conductors l2, l3 and I4 vacuum tightly sealed therein for supporting the two electrodes l5 and [6 Within the envelope. The center conductor I2 is provided with a head [1 on its inner end which may be suitably formed by bending the end of the wire l2 as shown in the drawing. Electrode I5 is fastened to the end of wire conductor l3 and to the head I! while electrode [6 is connected between head I! and conductor [4. The head I! separates the two electrodes so that heat from one of them will not be directly conducted to the other during operation of the lamp. Electrodes l5 and I6 may be of the known activated or non-activated types depending on the use for which the lamp is designed.

A block [8 of electrically non-conductive material and having two terminal pins [9 and 20 attached, is supported on the end of the envelope I0 by means of the flanged sleeve 2|. Sleeve 2| may be of metal or of non-conductive material. If it is formed of non-conductive material such as of a molded plastic, the block 18 may be made integral with the sleeve 2! to form an end cap in a single piece. The lead-inconductors I3 and [4 are electrically connected to the terminal pins l9 and 20 respectively.

The center conductor [2 is connected to a metal plate 23 which is supported on the inside of the block l8 in a suitable manner as with the rivet 24. The plate 23 is provided with a hole in each end thereof as shown at 25, and 26. The block [8 is also provided with holes aligned with the holes 25 and 26. The holes in the plate 23 are threaded to accommodate a screw 21 that extends through the block I8.

Terminal pins I9 and 20 are each provided with a washer type plate 28 that extends over the nearest of the holes in the block l8. Each q (t of said plates 28 is provided with a hole aligned with the corresponding holes in the block 18 and the plate 23.

When the lamp is connected into an electric circuit and with the parts arranged as shown in Fig. 1, current will pass from the terminal pin 20 to the terminal pin 19 through the plate 28, screw 21, plate 23, lead-in conductor [2, electrode l5 and lead-in conductor i3, whereby the electrode [5 will become heated and in a short time will cause an arc to form between it and an electrode located in the opposite end of the lamp. The electrode i5 is, of course, in parallel with the circuit just described, but it will not become. energized due to its greater resistance than the lead-in conductor l2 which constitutes the other arm of the parallel circuit.

When the electrode I5 fails for any reason as by being burned out or by becoming inactivated, if originally activated, it may be easily disconeetesi te h the eire ti b mere mey he th reet it' hem, he hee t eh. illu r t d n he l fi in tin i th i ig fi d. 19 5 eeieeeh t9 e. hhihel Pm 5:3 W KQPY hr ht l 3 Pete b w n he te minal hint the el t de It th eh h eehs tetete it and, e-

Eeeh Qt the eleetre tee n it e leeeted ear r e. the a s. or he hh h el by hshhe the, hert eh. o h nter e ieht ttete it out, o th hlaheet t e eehdu te t 1161 EP 5 1 56 in? e etret ee he eh e h id id9 ather than an to end 7 lati Re err n 9W 9 PQQ QEtiQI illustrated n h e eee hee the hl ek ee Whieh e he i in function to the block l8 described above, is re ie e i with ihe e hele it a h r then w e, he ee, s eh, Etietev e e ihm e e t erew f.Z,-. he ee w 2, i held n the h e k 39 y mea et t he t threa ed la er that it ie ttr h e; he e e ti i e -ed'eye eh t ehd te. held he plate ee g t the e l: of.- the hl h- T e eth h e h uet e t a d it are e nheet l. e, th P a e e d ermihel; ine. ,5: n 36 eih lerlyx la ed n he deeeri en of; th emhee e ef th te mina Pine at s rov d d w th. a, Wa er, 31,, The ee ew, 11i o d a me al bar-3e the. i e a a nst ene q the wa h rs 31 o es ablis a eie e iv ir i "betw en, eh he n elee ea e hteet, th. the ermina hihe 35 and 3ft.

The hteht eh t, el e eeeh e e ieee, ethhl he elhheet d ee retieet th tie equ e y e eth i e i ht 'et the' ema h P e he 'eh et e by a single lead-in conductorto an, electrode,

modificationfillustrated in, Eig, 6', shows a portion of gimp; constructed in ammance; with the intention, and QmplQ yillg self-heated electrodes. Referring to Fig. 6, electrodes 4.0 and 41; are

supported on the; lead-in "conductors lg and 43, espec vely, which, in turn ar co nect d o h ion 1t sockets "i i and 45 respectively, in the end cap 46. A plate 47 is suitably mounted on the outside of the cap and has a hole near each end thereof aligned with holes in the cap and the sockets 44 and 45. Electrical contact is made with either of the electrodes and 4| by means of the screw 48 that forms a connection between the plate 41 and one of the, sockets 44 and 55, depending on which of the electrodes is to be energiz ed.

It has been proposed heretofore to construct 'radio tubes, X-ray tubes, and incandescent lamps with supplementary filaments which could be connected in circuit upon failure of the first used filament. This, to my knowledge, has not, however, been done heretofore with electric discharge devices, and it has not been accomplished with the, simplicity and effectiveness that characterize this invention. While I have described the invention more specifically with reference to a mercury or other e her am rwhieh a be a 1 pres u lam e ermic dal ih reeeeht am or a h ressure ama i w l he noted; tha he hveh ieh is equally applicable to other types of electric i c ar e. devices havin a geeeehe. r meta a r fi lin o bo h The ter e i gis h he ese tle e ser tiv n tlh ttt ve Ql ly an net at tr e e ihi-t ir et the hvehtie Q wh c bv us y an th etihh ht. may b con tr cted; ithout depa ti g rom the en ra e e e ein di a ed n denot d; i the ap nd aim- What I claim is: In an ele tric d cha e deri e ih l dih a 'bular. envelope of: v treous.- mat rat ea h h of said envelope havingtwo, elect odes he ei said electrodes, hav n lead. con uct r tending therefrom. the eemb atien t er t of a flared. seal; stem forme t, ea end of said envelope. said leadrin con c ors being a uum ti htly. sealed in, said stem, en c p, mem

each member, threaded aligned holes extending through theplateandbloclc to each of saiclmembers, an, electrical switching.- contact means comprising an electrically, conductive screw. adapted to be alternately inserted into one of said: holes to electrically connect a lead-in. conductor tothe pin.

EDMUND References Citedin the file. of this patent N FED: P TENTS:

e the Ne e Dat 2 ,4;1 1,79,. Qog; NOV, 2 1, $13199 9 1 he, 1.950 

